3 Bucket List Destinations for 2015 (& A Chance To Win Your Own!)

Every year as spring rolls around, blowing away the snow clouds of winter and replacing them with all sorts of lush green adorableness, I promise myself I’ll improve my life. I’ll cut all things mundane from my life and concentrate on all things awesome instead.

That’s around the time when my bucket list makes a fast reappearance. You might have already seen the one on my website, filled with all kinds of fantastical things. From getting wasted in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day to visiting the Himalayas, it includes all the wonderful travel moments I would love to experience – preferably in the near future and at least once in my life.

Today I want to present you with the top three bucket list adventures which I will try to tick off in 2015 – and a chance to win one of your own! Because what’d be the point in talking about my dreams if I did not try to help you fulfil you own?

But this year I have decided to finally confront that silly fear and am seriously considering attending the TBEX conference in Asia this October. If I do take the leap, I’d probably end up having a proper look around the area too! Would you fancy a little trip to South East Asia this fall or would you write me off as just another cliche backpacker stereotype? *shudders*

Iceland

This one is particularly exciting because I am… wait for it… going there next week! I’m sorry I kept it a secret for such a long time. We’ve been talking about it for a while now, but only took the plunge and booked our tickets two days ago. We actually managed

My friend Tom whom you may recognise from some of my silly YouTube videos (subscriiibe, subscriiibe!) will be joining me on an epic trip to the land of fire and ice and we are both beyond excited!

If you have any tips on what to see and do in Iceland, please pop them in the comment section below. I’m not much of a planner, but as we will only be there for five days I want to make sure we fit in as many highlights into that limited time as possible.

Finland

My third pick is Finland. You might find this a bit odd, given that I was just there earlier this year. While visiting the Arctic town of Levi I was almost certain I’d get to see the elusive northern lights. I pictured a giant paintbrush colouring the sky a fantastical shade of green and my camera snapping away as it captured one of the most magnificent natural phenomena known to (wo)man.

The good news is that you can experience it too, thanks to the kind folks over at Transun who are hosting an epic bucket list competition!

The Competition

Would you like to go on a fantastic trip for two to Finland or Sweden to see the northern lights?! And not just any trip – one with full board accommodation, return flights, a husky safari, a visit to a reindeer camp, a snowmobile ride and much more. Eh, hellooo – who wouldn’t. Luckily, if you are a fellow blogger, now is your chance to win just that!

The host is Transun, an agency offering travel beyond the ordinary. Their trips range from big game safaris and encounters with bears in Sri Lanka, visits to Mediterranean vineyards and island hopping cruises in Croatia to the one I just highlighted above. In other words, should you win you’ll be in good hands!

To enter, all you have to do is write a blog post about your top three travel bucket list destinations, explaining why you’d love to visit them. Once it’s published just tweet it to @Transun using #TransunLights.

The competition closes on Thursday, 30 April 2015 at 23:59 so make sure to get your entries in before then. Good luck!

What items are you going to tick off your bucket list this year? Whatever you say, please don’t say none. Commit to fulfilling at least one travel dream this year, however small it may be. Comment below – let’s keep each other accountable!

Disclaimer: This competition has been brought to you by Girl vs Globe in partnership with Transun. To learn more about the terms and conditions click here. All images via Transun.

Amazing competition! My top bucket list thing I’m aiming to tick off this year is to experience the white nights of the Nordic midsummer, hopefully road tripping to Finland via Norway and Sweden. I’m so excited about it! I’d absolutely love to see the northern lights next winter too!

Ohhh yeah, the white nights are supposed to be quite cool! You can also experience them in the north of Russia, like in St Petersburg 🙂 The northern lights are worth waiting for – I finally saw some in Iceland & although they were really faint… AMAZING 🙂

Cool! I’ve had the unbelievable good fortune to see the norther lights from a plane on a night flight from Vancouver to UK, over Greenland, a few years ago. Extraordinary fat ribbons of green swishing above the aeroplane! I’d love to see them from the ground though, it was weirdly dreamy and surreal from the air!

Mary Lyndall

This is amazing! I have dreamed about traveling for as long as I can remember. I think any country outside my home country (USA) is on my bucket list. Traveling has always been a dream of mine, and hopefully in the near future I will be able to check some countries off my list.http://www.sweetheartofthesouth.com

Woo that’s the spirit Mary!! 😀 Where would you go first? When I was in Iceland I was sharing the dorm with an American guy who’d never been to any other country either and that was his first trip. He said he loved it! Plus they have really cheap flights to Iceland from Boston now 🙂

We LOVED it! There is so much to do, a ton of great food and with the dollar being strong it was much cheaper than we expected.

Joshua Estrada

I went to Iceland in March for seven days! If you are renting a car, definitely drive down the southern coast. I wasn’t as thrilled with Western Iceland (basically north of Reykjavik). On the way see Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall you can walk behind; Sólheimajökull Glacier, you can climb on this with a tour; Skogafoss, a pretty cool waterfall; and Reynisfjara, the black beach with spectacular geology from erosion (columned rocks, pillars in the ocean, etc). Everyone does the Golden Circle, which is pretty awesome in itself. 5 days is not a lot of time to circle the island, though you could definitely do it. You would be skimping on all of the attractions. Definitely check out Reykjavik for a day and hit up the Blue Lagoon, which is 20 or so km from the airport. I saved the lagoon for last and soaked in the water for a couple hours before my flight. I hope you get to see the Northern Lights! Look at this great forecasting website: http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/ as you get closer to arriving to plan. I was fortunate enough to be there when activity was at the highest on the scale. I am kind of peanut butter and jealous that you are going. I am definitely going back one day for a summer trip!

Omg you’re a star! I didn’t get to reply to your comment before leaving for Iceland but rest assured, I took heed. As a result, ended up doing pretty much all you suggested 😀 We did end up driving around Western Iceland though & saw some amazing sights. Even got to climb the Kirkjufell mountain which was incredible… incredibly scary 😀 Iceland was AWESOME though… and we even saw some northern lights, although they were quite faint. So worth it though!

Joshua Estrada

I saw! I am glad you got to see and do everything you wanted to! A return trip is definitely on my list! There is just so much to see and do there, one week is not enough 🙂

Oh, what a pity it doesn’t include flights from Australia. Well the Northern Lights and a reindeer have long been on my bucket list … plus staying at the Canadian Rockies during winter and maybe learning to ski! Finally, maybe something sunny – one of those overwater/underwater bungalows in the Maldives, where you’re in a cabin/room overwater and downstairs your bedroom has windows where you can look out at the marine life. Sounds like heaven to me!

Yeah, hopefully I’ll have more international contests soon! OHHH skiing is so much fun. I lived in central Europe till I was 17 so I’ve been skiing since the age of 5 haha – it’s really common in the region 🙂 Maldives would be… HEAVEN right now!

Iceland is on my list too, I really hope we will get to visit later this year. And yes, once you’ve been to Finland once you just have to go back – I’ve been three times now, twice to Ruka which is Lapland, and haven’t seen the Northern Lights either time. No fair!

I want to enter but I’m a little confused, because in the rules they state that you must own the copyright to the images you use in the promotion (I’m assuming, in your blog post). But if they’re on my bucket list, I haven’t been there… and therefore, have no photos that are legally mine to show. (Unless crediting is OK) Any suggestions? Thanks 🙂

Europe Diaries

I am thinking about the same. I naturally don’t have any pictures of places I have never visited. Would be great to get it clarified.

That makes perfect sense & is a great question 🙂 It just means that you use photos with a creative commons license – you can get those from Flickr from example! 🙂 You just click on the license menu there & select “creative commons”. @europediaries:disqus @djseaward:disqus

Kristin

Thank you for asking this! I was just wondering the same thing!

Ally

Thailand, Iceland, and South Africa have been on my bucket list for forever and I was so excited to see you want to go there too!! I wrote a blog post about those three being on my bucket list a while back, so I have no excuses not to enter this competition 🙂 one goal I’m working on is to step foot on all 6 inhabited continents by age 30, and I’ll be going to China this summer, my first time in Asia – getting closer to that bucket list item!

Yay! Great minds 😀 Ohh that’s a great goal. I’ve got four down… Australia & South America left to be explored 🙂 I was in China last year, my first time in Asia too – and loved it. Whereabouts will you be? I was in Beijing for a month & might have some great recommendations!

Ally

So glad to hear you enjoyed China! I’ll be in Beijing for about 9 days, and then Hangzhou and Shanghai for a couple of days each. I’d love to hear your recommendations for Beijing!!

That’s a great bucket list! I’ve also had Thailand on mine for a while and now that I’m traveling there next week, I’m hoping it doesn’t disappoint, though at this point it’s excitement > silly fears.
I wish I would have known about this competition in time to write my bucket list! But I’m happy to have found your blog nonetheless 🙂

Hi, I’m Sabina!

I'm all about responsible travel, sustainable fashion and veggie food. I created Girl vs Globe to show the world you can fulfil your dreams without harming the planet - quite the opposite! Click the photo above to learn more about me.

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